Cerena's Song 2: The Amulet's Curse - Part Nine

     As I approach the side of the mountain, the place where I found the entrance last time, I grab the amethyst and close my eyes, taking a deep breath. My fingers run along the gem, the power practically surging out of it. I can’t help but think about how much my life is about to change yet again. It’s for the best, though; I think this is what I was meant to do all along.

     I find the small opening and think back to the last time I tried to use it, just to be met with a dead end immediately on the other side. I survey the side of the mountain, looking for any other way in and begin to make my way along the side when I notice an oddly shaped boulder inside of a crevice. It’s shaped almost like a door.

     The boulder is long and flat, and in the top left corner I can see a hole that the boulder appears to be covering. I set my supplies down against the rocks and with all my strength I push the boulder aside, revealing a hidden entrance. This must have been the door Cerena used when I visited recently.

     I take a step inside of the dark tunnel and start to make my way into the mountain. Pretty soon, I am almost completely engulfed in the darkness but see some light coming from further inside. As I follow along the pathway, I come upon a string of lights illuminating the dark tunnel. This is a huge improvement from four years ago when I was forced to wander around in the dark completely blind.

     The path continues for a while longer and I figure I must be pretty far into the mountain by this time. Eventually, the yellow glow of the lights fades and turns to a dark purple. I know I must be getting close.

     An enormous room opens up at the end of the tunnel, extremely familiar to me with the giant amethyst at the center, the one I woke up in the last time I came here and fell victim to Cerena’s song. However, this time it has changed a considerable amount. In the far corner of the room I can see a little hut, probably built to house Cerena.

     I cautiously make my way to the small house, instinctively holding onto my amethyst necklace, and after building up some courage, knock firmly on the door. I wait for a moment with no response and consider letting myself in. But right as I reach for the doorknob, I hear footsteps behind me.

     “So, you came back.” I instantly recognize it as Cerena’s voice. She doesn’t sound angry, which is good news. “I knew you would.”

     I turn around to face her, still looking exactly the same as last time. Her black hair is straight and pushed back behind her ears and she wears a dark purple dress. She stares back at me with those piercing blue eyes. “I like what you’ve done with the place,” I say awkwardly, trying to find some way to start a conversation.

     “Thank you,” she replies, and for the first time in my life, I think I see her smile. “I’ve had a lot of free time to work on it. Why don’t you come inside?” She walks toward the front door to her house and I feel a chill as she brushes past me. I follow her inside and shut the door behind us. The house is small, with only three rooms: a general living space, a bedroom, and a kitchen. She sits down on the couch and looks up at me. “The bathroom is just outside, if you were wondering.”

     I nod and make my way around the space, taking in everything around me. Everything is so simple, made out of wood or rock and scraps she must have found just outside the mountain. There are a few pictures and items she must have taken with her the day she left Roseate that are scattered about on shelves.

     “So,” she starts, with the same calm manner she always speaks with, “why are you here?”

     I take a moment to think about how to respond. Should I tell her the true reason I am here today? Would she try to stop me? “I spoke with your grandmother,” I blurt out. “I mean Fay.”

     She has a blank expression once more. “I see, and I’m guessing she explained to you everything that happened.” I nod. “Well, then, I guess that saves me some time. So if you didn’t come for answers... what did you come for?”

     “Well, the truth is-” Just then, a sudden, loud knock comes on the front door. I jump and spin around to face it. Cerena also jumps up off the couch and walks briskly toward it.

     “You brought somebody again?” she yells, furiously swinging the front door open. Standing behind it is Cayn and Amelia, Amelia looking like she just ran a marathon and trying desperately to catch her breath. Cerena turns back to face me. “Are you insane, Jeanine?”

     “I didn’t bring them! They must have followed me!” I walk up to Cayn and gave him a disapproving look. “Why did you come? It’s far too dangerous for you to be here!”

     “It’s not my fault,” he says, holding up a piece of paper. “You forgot the transfer spell!”

     I open my mouth to say something but stop dead, knowing what must be going through Cerena’s mind right now. I turn cautiously to look at her and she seems shocked with a bit of fury. “Transfer spell...?” she mutters, still not taking her gaze off of me. “Jeanine, what do you think you are doing?”

     “I’m sorry, I had to. You never deserved this life, Cerena. I just wanted to give you a chance to live a normal one.”

     She crosses the room until she is directly in front of me. “And you think you deserve this? You think you deserve to have your body randomly taken over by some ear-splitting song, risking the lives of everyone around you? You think you deserve to see those same people every night, faced with what you did to them? Sure, they don’t seem to mind, they’re always so happy... but every time I see them I can’t help but feel guilty for what I did.” She looks away, tears in her eyes. “You’re right, I don’t deserve this life... but nobody does.”

     Amelia takes a step around Cayn to look at the two of us. “You see them every night? You see my Wesley?”

     “The Lupe?” Cerena asks, smiling. “Why, he’s one of the kindest souls I have ever met.”

     A smile sweeps across the Aisha’s face, and a tear slides down her cheek. “So he’s okay? My Wesley is okay...”

     “I’m so sorry for what happened to him. I would take it back if I could. He speaks of you often, though, such wonderful things.” Amelia breaks down crying and exits the building, and the rest of us follow her out. Cerena stops me and looks me in the eyes once more. “I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I can’t let you take on this burden.” I pause and then nod, and she then turns to Cayn and Amelia. “I wish you two could stay longer. I wish I could let you see Wesley, but I can’t risk it. I’m so sorry.”

     “It’s alright, Cerena,” Cayn says, holding onto Amelia’s shoulders. “It was nice to finally meet you.”

     Cerena turns to walk back to her home, leaving the three of us standing there. Cayn holds loosely onto the paper containing the transfer spell and his other hand rests on Amelia’s shoulder. She snivels and wipes away tears, staring off at the giant purple amethyst. I watch as Cerena gets to the front door, then she turns back to wave goodbye. I smile and twist around just in time to see Amelia reach for the piece of paper, back quickly away from Cayn to press her hand against the giant amethyst, and shout out the words.

     “Aemo Tursta Ecclina-“

     “Amelia, no!” I gasp.

     “Hallinus!” With that, a bright purple light shoots out of Amelia as she collapses to the ground. Cayn runs to her side and I follow behind, with Cerena joining us shortly after.

     “What has she done!?” Cerena screams, her hand covering her mouth in terror.

     I frantically shake Amelia to wake her up, but she just lies lifeless on the ground, her entire body glows a faint purple. From behind her, I can see the enormous amethyst lighting up as well. The power coming out of it flows straight into Amelia. I glance over at Cerena, who used to have a slight purple complexion herself, but is now returning to a normal skin tone.

     We sit there in silence for a few minutes, still trying to wake her. Finally, her eyelids flicker and she lets out a groan. She opens her eyes and jumps at the sight of us, clawing at the ground.

     “Amelia, what were you thinking?” I ask, helping her to sit up. “Why in Neopia would you-” I stop myself, unable to even gather the right words.

     “I had to,” she mutters, holding her head and clearly in pain. “It was the only way to be with my Wesley. I needed to be with him again. I didn’t know what else to do.”

     “You’re insane!” Cerena yells in anger. “You can’t even begin to understand what you’ve just done!”

     “I know exactly what I’ve done,” Amelia tells her, making her way to her feet. “Don’t you get it? This is for the best! I have nowhere else to go; the last few years of my life have been spent traveling Neopia searching for my love. I have gone everywhere and seen everything, and all I want now is to be with Wesley. This is the only way I can see him now. We can be together here, for the rest of my life. And you, Cerena, you can live a normal life now. You can be free.”

     Cerena just stares at her, speechless. Finally, she nods and embraces Amelia. “I’m free...” she tells herself.

     Cayn, who had been extremely quiet, finally speaks up. “When will the spell fully take effect? We could all be in danger here!”

     “He’s right, we need to get out of here. You’re extremely brave, Amelia... thank you.” Cerena takes her hand and smiles at her, and then wheels around to face her home once more. “I just need to gather my things. It won’t take long, I don’t have much.”

     I take my turn to give Amelia a hug and wish her the best of luck. “Be careful,” I add.

     “You too,” she replies with a huge grin.

     Cerena comes back out, a couple items in her hands, and crossed over to Cayn and me. We all nod to Amelia and turn to leave. Just then, the blue ghostly figures of my friends and family enter, gliding into the open space. They all surround me, and I became overwhelmed with emotion as my former neighbors smile at me. Then, from among them, my best friend Jewell, the beautiful Maraquan Aisha, comes toward me and holds out a transparent purple seashell to me. She drops it into my hand and it instantly vanishes, but she runs off dancing and giggling happily. After that appears my father, still the largest Maraquan Skeith I have ever met. “Dad,” I say, tearing up. I try to hug him but I feel nothing physically, just a chill running through my body. Though I can’t feel it, he still wraps his arms around me and holds me close. We stay like this for a while.

     I turn around to see the transparent figure of a blue Lupe, recognizable as Wesley, slowly approaching Amelia. She cries tears of joy at the sight of him and goes forward to greet him. She holds up a hand and he returns it, trying to press his against hers.

     I feel as though I am in a trance, staring at all my loved ones, when Cayn’s voice snaps me out of it. “I wish we could stay, but we need to go, Jeanine.” I nod sadly and the three of us go for the exit. I glance back once more and blow a kiss to Jewell who happily receives it, and then we leave.

     We make our way back to Maraqua, and Cerena looks hesitant at first, but I assure her that she will find herself at home here. I make room for her at my house. It will be nice to have a friend to share it with.

     Cayn goes back to the Kingdom and has to explain to Kelpbeard about his absence. After listening intently to Cayn’s story, King Kelpbeard insists on meeting Cerena. She is brought in later that day and is welcomed to the city, with a magnificent tale to tell.

     I sit in my room, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what is to come of my life. I shake my head and tell myself to stop worrying so much about what is going to happen; to just enjoy the moments I have now. Cerena will be coming back home tonight when she finishes speaking to King Kelpbeard, and Cayn will be joining us for dinner, my first dinner party. I reach into my pocket and feel a piece of paper tucked inside. I pull it out and unravel it; it is the letter Amelia gave me. Would it hurt to read it now?

     My Dearest Amelia,

     I have only been apart from you for a short time, but I feel as though it has been an eternity. I am in Tyrannia now; the natives are so strange but very welcoming! They love to hear tales of Altador, and I tell them all the time about you. I’m going to set sail tomorrow, and I hope their mail system is efficient. I hope that you are doing well, love, and I will be back as soon as I can. Just know that I am okay, I am having the time of my life, and that I love you with all my heart!

     Wesley

     I see something else below the letter, written sloppily and smeared from what I can only assume is tears. It must be Amelia’s writing.

     I love you too.

     I sigh and let the paper fall, and then close my eyes, holding onto my amethyst necklace. And strangely, for the first time in a long time, I feel at peace.

The End